Vern has read Stallone's THE EXPENDABLES!!!

Usually I don't write much about a movie before it's made, because I prefer movies that exist. Every once in a while somebody sends me a script like LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD or RAMBO, but I usually ignore them. I would rather watch the finished movie and not know what the original plan was. And to be honest I'm not sure how qualified I am to tell you about the meal based on the recipe. But THE EXPENDABLES - a Sylvester Stallone action ensemble picture where he will write, direct and then star alongside Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Forest Whitaker and Randy Couture - is a big fuckin deal among those of us who love the action cinema of the '80s and '90s. We can't help but dream about this one like nerds once dreamed of Star Wars prequels or new outfits for their limited edition Serenity dolls so they can act out what would've happened in the second season. So when Stallone's script fell into my lap this time I couldn't resist.
By the way I would like to take a moment to welcome A.B. King to the talkback. Welcome, A.B.
The ragtag team of the title are a group of elite mercenary badasses - at one point described as "totally prepared to die in a blaze of glory" - hired to take out a dictator in the South American country of Corza. I do not have an opinion on what's going on in Corza because I believe it is a fictional country, but if in fact they're real I'm against them. They got all kinds of human rights violations and shit. No good.
Of course, the mission is not necessarily what it seems, there may or may not be some doublecrosses and deceits, etc.
The Expendables never come out and refer to themselves as The Expendables, but they do sport tattoos with an Expendables logo. Their lifestyle is rough but they have a dark sense of humor about it. The leader of the Expendables, Barney (played by Stallone I assume) has a good way of describing their purpose: "We remove those hard to get at stains." They try to do the right thing, but the movie itself seems sort of uncomfortable with the idea of soldiers of fortune and with puppet dictators and CIA tampering in other countries. It's a fun action movie but not some jingoistic imperialist deal like I think some people assume.
While I'm sure Stallone did some research about how these things work in the War On Terror era, happily this is not one of these Greengrassian modern action movies that tries to seem completely reality based. This is a movie where a team of 5 can take on an army of 100, where armed men still sometimes engage in martial arts and fisticuffs, where many, many things blow up, where occasionally a character might have something sarcastic to say during combat. In other words, a good old fashioned action movie. An endangered species.
Barney is a very different character from Rambo. For one thing, his name is Barney. For another he talks in more than one sentence sometimes. He's almost a father figure to the team and finds himself always listening to other people's problems and trying to be supportive. The other character who gets the most screen time is the lovelorn Lee Christmas. He's supposed to be American but calls a guy "mate" at one point, which means he's played by Jason Statham. There's also Kong Kao, who will be played by Jet Li. He does alot of kicking, but is much more of a supporting character than Li usually plays. I do think it's a pretty good character for Li, though, because he gets some funny lines. He's an unhappy smartass, not the usual Li type of character.
(Of course for all I know Stallone is playing the Chinese martial arts expert Kong Kao and Li is playing the weathered veteran mercenary Barney Ross. I don't want to make any assumptions here.)
Those are the marquee names, but the actor I was happiest to see cast was Dolph Lundgren. Obviously it's cool to see the Balboa/Drago rematch (or reteam), but I'm excited more because I think Lundgren deserves to be on the big screen again. The DTV pictures he's been directing and starring in are surprisingly watchable, and physically he's held up better than almost any of the '80s and '90s action stars. He still has a super hero physique with his towering height and square jaw, but looks more interesting with some wrinkles on his face.
Unfortunately, if Dolph is playing who I think he is then he's only in a couple scenes. It's a small but crucial role as an Expendable named Gunnar who comes into conflict with Kong. Harry has already reported that Lundgren will be fighting Li in the movie, so I will reveal that they get to fight twice. Let's be honest, Li has alot to prove after being defeated onscreen by god damn Brendan Fraser in THE MUMMY TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR A FILM BY ROB COHEN. I mean, how the fuck does that work? That is unacceptable. So for him to face a guy who's actually a martial arts champion and nearly a foot taller than he is will be good for Li's rep. Also Dolph has a degree in chemical engineering, not sure if that is relevant.
We also know that Forest Ghost Dog Whitaker is in the movie. He plays Sands, a CIA agent tracking the Expendables. The Hollywood Reporter described the character as "devious" but in this draft at least he seems well-meaning. The same can't be said for the CIA character they're allegedly trying to get Sandra Bullock to play - she would be more like the bitch she plays at the beginning of CRASH and less like at the end when she's cured of racism because she fell down and broke her ass. Harry also reported that UFC fighter Randy Couture (seen in SCORPION KING 2 and more importantly REDBELT) would be in the movie - I'm guessing he's Paine, an American operative working for the dictator. If so it's a generic henchman role that will require little acting ability, but at least he'll get to fight Stallone.
There are also Expendables whose casting has not been revealed as far as I know. There's Richard, who is the gay Expendable. It's a plot point that he's gay, but they don't make any dumb jokes about it, he's just a member of the team. I'm proud of Stallone for that one. On the other hand, the black Expendable isn't much more than a benign Black Dude stereotype. He doesn't get enough characterization, but on the positive side he owns a restaurant, is zealous about tacos and has a name even more cartoonish than Lee Christmas: his name is Hale Caesar. I approve of that.
(Have you ever met anybody with the last names Christmas or Caesar? I don't think I have yet.)
The story is pretty standard, but if the movie works it will be partly because of the odd little touches here and there. I like that Barney is kind of a goofy old dude and doesn't try to be up to date at all. We're used to seeing Statham drive around in fancy brand new cars in his movies, in this one he'll be in the passenger seat of Barney's '56 Ford F-100 pickup truck. I don't think it specifies if the thing is restored or not, but I like to picture it as a real junker. You can't say Barney's poor though, because he owns a plane. When the guy hiring them asks if he has children Barney says, "I have a seaplane." He's pretty proud of that thing.
I have no idea if this is the final draft, but most of the characters are pretty lightly sketched. On the page I wouldn't say they seem like iconic action movie characters that we're all gonna remember, but hopefully the cast can bring something more to them. Like I said, it's a recipe. You'd hope Forest Whitaker could put a little spice on his role, for example.
Stallone does a good job of mixing up the location - they travel between the US, Mexico and Corza, which should keep it visually interesting. The action scenes, as written, are pretty good. There is variety, with action at sea, in a plane, in trucks, with guns, knives, feet, forearms, one-on-one and in a mob. My biggest hope for the movie is that the second Dolph vs. Jet fight will be much longer than what Stallone wrote down. As written it's way too brief. Please Stallone, don't skimp on that one. (Dolph gotta eat? I never did understand that "gotta eat" thing you guys like to write.)
Fortunately an action scene is often gonna be shot totally different than scripted. For the climactic "extraordinary battle scene" Stallone doesn't even bother to script it, he just writes:
"THE BATTLE IS ON!! WHAT ENSUES IS A REMARKABLY SAVAGE EBB AND FLOW BATTLE. TO DESCRIBE THE ACTION DESIGNED FOR THIS SCENE WOULD TAKE MANY PAGES, SO TRUST ME, IT'LL BE LIKE NOTHING SEEN BEFORE."
Maybe you can take Stallone at his word on that, or maybe he just wanted to figure it out later. In the screenplay Barney turns out to have a few tricks up his sleeve that I didn't expect, so maybe Stallone does too. We'll see.
I wouldn't say THE EXPENDABLES is a great script necessarily, but it definitely has potential. He's got a good backbone that now needs some charismatic performances and well-executed action sequences on top. We know it has a good cast and that the action in RAMBO was pretty good. So I think this has a good shot. I'm still excited.
In other words, "THE EXPENDABLES is a keeper!" --The Ain't It Cool News
thanks fellas,
Vern
OutlawVern
p.s. Seriously, could somebody explain that "gotta eat" joke to me? Stallone's character says it in the script and I feel left out
p.p.s. Did you know there's a band called Balboa who only play covers of songs from ROCKY movies? BalboaBand.Com

I'll have to wait, though, what with the linear nature of time and all that. But even so. The idea of Stallone leading a badass band of assorted badasses to take down a comical Central American piece of all-round nastiness works wonder for my Action Gland. Let's hope Arnie has the fine sense to do a walk-on cameo. One question, Vern, and one question crucial to the script and the potential movie thereof; what's the baddie like, and any ideal casting ideas?

Vern, you glorious inexpendable bastard, good work. There are certain decisions you don't need to fret over in life ("Do I continue to eat cookies?", "Is Rita Hayworth arousing, depsite her being dead?"). Luckily the decision to see THE EXPENDABLES is one of those choices that I have an answer to already. I can't wait to see this show.

All he needed to do was write the names of those actors on a piece of cardboard with a message saying "seriously guys, just hand over $50 million. It'll be cool I swear" and he'd have got an instant greenlight. Even movie execs ain't dumb enough to refuse.

with the last names Christmas or Caesar? I don't think I have yet.)<p>
I once knew this guy, I think he was a mobster or something, who went by the name Black Caesar. Then again, my memory ain't what it used to be, he could very well have been a character in a movie.

He's mentioned in every Sly-related article, but he blew his question in the 10 Questions a Day column, and he's not gotten into any huge barnies in the talkback lately... This is your last chance, AB. If you don't knock our socks off with some epic Stallone fawning for the ages, we'll have to coronate a new A.B. King.

Vindication at last! Soon Wes Anderson will have a line about Bill Murray having a beer and cheeting on his wife; Keira Knightley will be referred to as a tomboy beanpole onscreen, and Danny Glover will win an Oscar in his harrowing portrayal of a man suffering from testicular torsion, who decides to cut off his package altogether (featuring M.A.S.H.-like scenes of dickblood all over the place).

I believe heaven is on earth...first we got ROCKY BALBOA back in 2006...then we got one of the best action movies ever with RAMBO in 2008...and NOW!!!!!!!!!!! Stallone has written an action epic with an all action star cast. It wasn't Jerry Bruckheimer or Joel Silver who thought of this idea...it was STALLONE! KUDOS! Sly is on a roll and after reading VERNS script review...this movie is gonna own. Maybe this will be Sly's new franchise after he wraps up RAMBO with the fifth RAMBO MOVIE!

To all studio plants and Rothmany' Fox type suits, VERN is our leader when it comes to cornball action movies and he has single handedly provided Segal with an audience for the past 4 years. If he says its good, then I am buying my ticket sight and trailer unseen.
VERN PLEASE GET OFF GEOCITIES and get a real website that have more pepper to it, maybe work with Moriarty on his new site. VERN YOU NEED A BIGGER AUDIENCE. You are hands down the reason I check this site daily. I ain't gay even for plot points but dude, from one West Coast Dweller to another (up in Vancouver) your golden man.

Dino ultimately became an admin on the Zone. He's also responsible for the funniest thread on the Zone: Ask a the Dino, an Agony Aunt column where he ends up advising everyone who Asks a the Dino for help to kill themselves. http://tinyurl.com/7gp457 ('fraid you have to log in to view it).

Vern's site perfectly reflects the essence of his writings AND MUST NEVER CHANGE. I want to be able to go there in 20 fucking years and see it completely untouched be the passage of time. Furthermore, Vern doesn't need to find a larger audience, for only the true aficionados of badass cinema are deserving of such a bookmark.

ABking - technically, according to the copy of The Expendables script I have on my hard drive, Stallone did not originally come up with this idea...but he is doing some re-writing on it...not sure if he is actually cutting out the subplot of his character having a child in University (possible from Vern's little mention of the "do you have a child question and the I have a plane answer). But there is/was a cool Heat-esque scene where Whitaker's character of Sands runs into Stallone's Barney at the University. They both have children there. Stallone originally thinks he was followed and they have a little confrontation/talk. It's a nice little back and forth that could work well if left in...
So yeah, as much as I admire your enthusiasm and pimpage of all things Stallone, from my recollection the original script/idea came from somewhere else...
But I am ecstatic that Stallone decided to sign on and hire one of the best cast of muthafuckas in years...

Like I said in another talkbalk, Stallone should get Steven deSouza and/or Shane Black to touch up the script. Get the damn thing as tight as possible and run with it. And if you are going to have a CIA agent named Sands, then at least pitch the damn thing to Johnny Depp. He says yes to the strangest things, so he might take to "reprising" the role in a different film. Forrest can be the black dude on the team, and you know his involvement will spruce up that character as much as it needs to be. And, yeah, I'd love to see Van Damme or Russell in this, too.

In a perfect world this would be so.Or if he's in jail, maybe Billy Blanks of "Tai Bo" fame and fortune.And what, no Jessie Ventura?Cinthia Rothrock as the ass kickin MILF hooker with the heart of gold?
And bring in Ralph Machio as "The Kid". They can kill him off in the first battle when he tries the "paint the house" move against a guy with a machete ( Danny Trejo!).
You're welcome, bitches.

was from the Cedric the entertainer film, wasn't it? Here's a bit of trivia for you guys, 2 questions: what movie reviews here spawned the "BOMB IN HIS RIBCAGE!!" talkback jokes, as well as the "PENCHANT FOR DEAD, RAPED DEER" talkbackisms?

Sylvester Stallone will kick ass alongside Jet Li, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Forest Whitaker? Why is his fat ass in this kick ass movie? Is he the bad guy whose ass will be kicked? If Stallone wanted a token black guy, just to show that he isn't a racist, then get someone who is in halfway decent shape. Maybe Eddie Murphy.

There's no kid or university mentioned in the draft I read. Sounds interesting. They definitely are trying for a relationship between hunter and hunted here but it does feel like a little something is missing.

Because a) Forrest Whitaker is an amazing actor while Eddie Murphy is not, and b) You know as well as I do that if Sylvester Stallone cast Eddie Murphy in one role he'd soon take over EVERY role in the script.

comes from a Gary Sinese movie, I don't remember the name, but I remember it had Sinese<p>Sly,Sly, Sly...two words...ERIC...ROBERTS...dictator, need proof watch his f'd up totally amazing performance in DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE...where in a film full of half naked chicks he steals the movie

It will be nice to see an action movie based on the concept that the movie justs has, you know, action for action sake.<p> Man the 80's were great for fun movies, I wonder what happened? Oh yeah, I remember why, people decided that movies were way more important then they are and having fun at the movies was not cool.

Hmmm...interesting...I got my hands on it a few months before I heard the news about Stallone making it...I only read a good chunk of it, up to the point where things "get personal" between Li and Dolph...
Did your version have Jet Li's family in it as well...?
I'll have to go back and read the entire thing to see how it plays out...most of the other stuff you mentioned seemed to make sense from what I read, but some of the "one liners" that were in it weren't that glorious...more like they were trying to be cool and some fell flat...lemme know, I'd be happy to let you take a gander at the version I have and you can compare...It's a shame the university/children thing seems to be gone, it might've not been the greatest scene on the page, but when I heard that it would be Stallone and Whitaker's parts, I got a little excited at the possibilites...and I think the black expendable dude with the funny name was a latino dude or something in the original, if I'm not mistaken...it's been a few months now...and I think he had a different name too...

was originally Hands, not Sands I think...Izzy Hands possibly...you'd think I could just pull it up and check it out...but I'm much happier assuming that my memory and brain cells haven't been completely fried from some sort of substance...

about the monumental fucking lose that Inglorious Bastards became. We all wanted a new era ditry dozen, and the plot is mainly centered on Shosanna. Enter Sly Stalone. I bet he read it saw what we were bitching about and said ok then. I'll do it. I'll gibve you guys the Merc's you want! Thanks Sly.

Okay, so I may check this out. If it gets the same reviews as Rambo did (surprisingly good), then I'll give it a chance. And yeah, Akira you're right, Chuck Norris would make a great Gay Expendable since he's so damn homophobic and still a neocon true believer (must have gotten kicked by Bruce Lee and others too many times). Good cast looks like. I would think that Jason Statham or Jet Li should lead since they could, at this and most other points, kick Stallone's ass from here to Mars, but hey it's his baby so I guess that's how it goes.

Sound soo cool,it about time we had another of these flicks.i do hope Stallone keeps the violence from RAMBO,then it would blow the comp outa the water....oh and Stallones character should have a big moustatch like he did in the First Blood FLASHBACKS when the VC's are dunking him in the sewer pit...old school.

Seriously, this might be the second best movie in decades - after AVATAR of course.<p>I just hope and pray that Mr. Stallone keeps the fuck away from fucking shaky cam images that change every 5 frames.<p>I WANT STEADY-CAM BACK!!!

Van Damme turned down a role to do USOL 3. Big mistake.
Also this films needs Olivier Gruner, Keith Vitalli, Benny 'the jet' Urquidez, Joe Lewis, Edward john Stazak, Sho Kosugi, cynthia Rothrock, Keith Hiribashi, Richard Norton, and to top it off get Wang jang Lee in as the bad guy.
When is Mark Dacasos going to be in another classic. We all want Drive 2

Actually van damme had to do Universal Soldier 3 to avoid a lawsuit, as he dropped out of his contract for another film by the producers, I think to do JCVD. So he doesn't have much choice in the matter. It's possible that filming of Universal Soldier 3 conflicted with Expendables, so he just couldn't do it. Or maybe he just didn't want to play the gay guy...<p>Speaking of the gay character, it needs to be a well groomed ass kicker, how about Dirk Benedict? Faceman gotta eat. Or Rutger Hauer maybe. Someone who isn't going to stereotypically 'mince it up', and who can, err, handle their weapon convincingly. The black guy should be Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, or, in a pinch, Mr T. And cant they fit Chuck Norris in there somewhere?

Mullets. Blonde bimbos. 80's soundtrack. Slow motion explosions. Machine guns carried and fired under arm. Cocaine dealing bad guys. Cliched South American dictators. You testosterone filled, small penised, gay deniers are easily pleased. Did Stallone actually write this or just photocopy several straight to video B movie scripts from the 80s? Laughable. Please retire for New Year, Sly. Your schtick is tired and embarassing. How old are you now?

If between 1-3% of the population describes themselves as gay why do they constantly get a token character in the movies? Doesn't this bother the gay community that they get a disproportion amount of screen time?

Nice trolling there.
<p>
Then again, you are the asshat who thought a good idea for Jurassic Park 4 would be if Nedry was found alive, crazy and blind on the island and a mauled Muldoon as well, agreeing to some InGen dinosaur shenanigans in exchange for medical aid and transport off the island.

If only Carl Weathers could patch things up with Stallone, that would complete the movie. Dumb feud, really...Weathers insisted on an actual role in Rocky Balboa, even though his character died in Rocky III. Perhaps Sly could've found Apollo Creed still thriving alongside Captain Kirk somewhere in the Nexus...

When most film makers take on mythic archetypes, they put them in a fantasy or sci-fi realm. Stallone is great at putting mythic archetypes into real world situations. Not that fantasy and sci-fi archetypes is less preferable, its just that not many people have a knack for successfully utilizing them in the real world. Stallone is one of the few.

Yes, just before the climactic finale battle, Frank will pop up from behind a rock, wearing a ruffled-shirt tuxedo and holding a microphone with a cord trailing off into nowhere, and he shall sing: "Push-in, getting ready for the fight! Push-in, every day and night!"

Apollo died in IV. I know you meant that. Mickey died in III. And no, I don't get why Carl was upset either. I mean, Apollo was dead. And even flashbacks wouldn't have had much use for him in "Balboa." The only flashbacks that had merit were the Adrian ones, because Rocky being a widower was kinda the crux of the story.

1. Dolph might just be there for an extended cameo. Which would suck. He needs to be there as a main character. 2. If this is the entire cast, well then it's not that impressive. To really seal the deal with fans, Stallone NEEDS to cast at least TWO MORE icon stars! Ex. Bruce Willis, or other 80s era action star. Otherwise, this film won't be as "special" as it could be. Plus, Stallone may not get another chance to assemble such a cast.

I wouldn't be surprised to hear Nicolas Cage, Bruce Willis, or Mickey Rourke become attached to one of these "open" roles. I could see Rourke playing the gay character (even though I haven't read the script). I don't think they're looking for a Jeff Speakman folks.

when this was first announced that Stallone would be making it PG-13...any more word or confirmation on that...? Maybe if Vern can chime in about the new version of the script...does it fit the pg-13 mold...? If this is true, it's really the only bit of unfortunate news that I've heard...with this cast and story, the only other thing that needs t fall into place is an extremely hardcore, Hard R rating...

If you're reading this: after granting or not granting everyone else's requests here (Kurt Russell for one of the roles, Sandra Bullock if you can get her), please do TWO MORE THINGS for this movie -- Do everything in your power to get ARNOLD to cameo at the very end with a CIGAR in his mouth, and please GET VERN to do a DVD AUDIO COMMENTARY (in addition to your own, of course)!! P.S., I know Carl Weathers is a sore subject, but he showed up in a recent episode of E.R. and was not bad at all...! This movie's gonna be like 'Tropic Thunder...for real!' Greatly looking forward to this!

Yep, IV--well spotted.
Still, what would an obviously aged Apollo have added to Rocky Balboa? :D He's still formidable, but I doubt he'd still look remotely the same in a cropped sweatshirt and John Travolta's shorts from Perfect.

The whole Frank Stallone thing makes me wonder why Sly doesn't take the bold auteurial step of making a spoof of his own movie at the same time as he makes the original...think about it. Instead of leaving it to the "[Insert genre] Movie" crew, he releases The Expandables, a spoof of the Expendables, six months later, using the same actors and spoofing action movies featuring old 80s icons. :D

I really loved Rocky Balboa and Rambo so I think you are doing an awesome job! I encourage everyone here to get these films on Blu-ray. I did a text commentary on the Rambo Blu-ray and it was a blast. As far as AICN catchphrases, you guys forgot "Zombie Bruce Paltrow needs a sammich".

AICN catchphrases, he needs a scene where he's fighting with some dude, and they both struggle to get back to their guns...then Stallone beats the other guy by a split second, fires, and kills him...then Stallone and say: "FIRST!"

Then the movie will be like the war and action movies we love watching from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Yeah, bitch all you want about this remark, but its my fucking opinion and as an advocate of free speech I enjoy rooting for my team, so fuck off. Gays are certainly free to root for their side and those of us that don't support them are free to root for our side. That's called freedom. Its interesting how gays are free to express themselves, but as soon as someone else expresses that they don't agree with being gay, well, then, gays and gay supporters jump all over them labeling them "redneck homophobes", intolerant shitheads, blah blah blah, etc. I think many gays are just turning into a bunch of militant types and are forgetting that freedom of expression works both ways. Everyone is free to do whatever they want with their dicks. If we straights are loyal and cheering for our dicks in chicks, that's natural. If gays and gay supporters want to root for taking it up the hershey highway, or putting their dick in a light socket or other places where we don't think it fits naturally, well, that's their freedom. And I'd fight for anyone’s real freedom. But freedom also includes being able to cheer for your own team. And we both can disagree with each other, but I don't see any reason why people should insult each other, name call, etc. Every time some straight person on the net roots for their team they almost always get shit, so that's my statement in advance. And that's all I wish to say about it.

...be no acting in this movie. This is a money where people are going to get their asses kicked! I expect the "actors" to say their lines, blow someone's head off, and kick someone in their balls. In fact, the less acting the better! Whitaker would be such a pain in the ass, because he would trying to deliver a good performance and use the "method" and all of the that gay shit. Fuck that shit! If Wesley Snipes wasn't doing time in Florida, I would cast him. Maybe Trent Howard...

This could be like a Predator-style group of badasses. Except Dolph will break a machete against his face cutting off the scruff. He don't need no stinking razor blade to get rid of the six o'clock shadow!

1st grade's last name was Christmas. And the rumor was his wife's name was Mary. But I don't think that was true. The joke was everytime she wrote a check, the clerk would hand it back: Merry Christmas to you too. But I need your name" Thats my two cents

Somebody named "Nobody" (probaly not their real name) emailed me to suggest that we should be discussing the fact that this is planned as a PG-13 movie. He or she made a good point that it's silly to assume the audience for a movie starring Stallone and Lundgren is gonna be teens.<p>
The script I would say is violent but just based on the specific descriptions is not the extremely graphic type like RAMBO. But like I said, the biggest action scene isn't even in the script, so who knows what will happen when they shoot it?<p>
So I'm remaining open minded but of course I would prefer a hard-R type of action. How about you guys? Would you prefer that they hold back on the violence? Here is your chance to let them know if you are very excited about them being restrained and polite in their action or if you would prefer a different approach. As Quint would say, "What do you guys think?"

It's been proven that R rated movies can make a lot of money. Rambo did pretty well I think. If the story calls for a lot violence,you may as well just make it an R rated movie. When I heard the rumors of the new Terminator movie being shot as a PG-13, it didn't seem right.But when you go back and watch the first 2 now, they're really not that bad. I think the moment that The Joker slammed that guys head into a pencil, the boundries of PG-13 were pushed a little bit.

Co Bao asks Rambo "What's that?" Rambo says, "A bow...no sound." <br>
Then he proceeds to shoot a bad guy with it, and the thrum of the release is louder than a tsunami, and the thwack of the arrow in the forehead is louder than thunder.

Die Hard was great for little moments like that. The stuffed teddy bear. Fists with yer toes. Argyle gabbing on his car phone. The candy bar. The SWAT team bitching about thorn bushes. Powell and his Twinkies. Special agents Johnson and Johnson. Nice suit. Hey, Johnboy. Shoot da glass. Bill...clay.

I agree that with this cast, a movie called THE EXPENDABLES should have an R. It doesn't have to be the lovefest of blood that RAMBO was (Sly got away with murder on that one, GO SLY, the MPAA got duped). All it has to have is some bad ass kills. I will leave it up to Sly to do what is best.

AICN fans are talking about the black EXPENDABLE (Ving Rhames anyone?) or the gay EXPENDABLE (James Franco anyone?)...but the one guy Sly should convince to make a brief 5-10 minute cameo is ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER. And give him a military shed like in COMMANDO. That way, if he doesn't do any action scenes, we could always imagine what his character would have done if he had gone on the mission. This could become STALLONE & SCHWARZENEGGER's first action film together and what better way than in a war type tough guy movie. If this film is the huge 100 million domestic hit it's gonna be, Arnie just needs to set up his character to star in EXPENDABLE 2 (I know I'm jumping the gun ok guys!). I hope when this film is out and Sly is talking about VAN DUMB...I mean VAN DAMME turning down the role DOLPH got...I hope Stallone doesn't say Arnie turned him down as well. Arnie doesn't need to take the money, just have Sly donate it to CA or some charity. Same with Avi Lerners CONAN film. Arnie should take the cameo as King Conan and not get paid if it's a conflict of interest. Sly, if you are reading this, get Arnie to sign up for this old school 80's action film. Fuck all the other guys the board is throwing out there, get ARNOLD! Hell, tell Arnie to do CONAN with your pal LERNER!

Having Arnold on as a cameo would be an insult to the other actors who have to sweat and bleed to give good performances for Sly. And it would cheapen the movie. If you're gonna be in Sly's movie, give it 300% effort. Otherwise, spend your time balancing California's budget.

Sly and Arnie were always the only two guys that should have starred in a CONTRA film back in the 80's. It's funny Sly wrote a great military action film called THE EXPENDABLES that teams up numerous action stars. If Arnie has to sit the first film out, maybe it would be great for Sly and Arnie to make the sequel to EXPENDABLE only about the both of them going on a mission. Make it CONTRA style. Or maybe have the second film star Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Eastwood, Willis, Gibson and Jackie Chan!

I trust Sly to do the right thing. Loved Rocky Balboa and I was pleasantly surprised by Rambo (didn't have that much faith in it but he rocked it). <P>
Have you seen Mamma Mia, btw? Here's a clip: <P>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZyplfo3ATo&feature=related

...all roled into one. The Expendables can join that list of GREAT action films. Oh, by the way, SANDRA BULLOCK is out of the film according to CLINT at MOVIEHOLE.NET...http://www.moviehole.net/200817141-various-news-items-301208

It worked OK for Die Hard 4 (in my opinion) and if it means Sly can make a fuckload more money and keep on making films, I am seriously ALL for it. What's to worry about? Intense blood and swearing or not, Sly will make a fucking awesome film. I am there!

I don't think it would be silly to assume that teens would be the audience for this film. Sure the main attraction here is to see our generation's heroes come together in a JLA / The Avengers sort of way and teens today need to be introduced to REAL action movies. But remember that the people who were teenagers and saw these films in the late 80's / early 90's have teen kids of their own now and they WILL bring them in droves to see this movie.<br>
While I would hate, hate, hate for this to be less violent, hardcore and actiony than what action movies of that period were - I think the studio knows fathers will take their sons to see this.

That's the point though, if the fathers will take their sons to it should be rated R just like Rambo, Die Hard, Predator, etc. were. I guess the teens would be the ones who go see Jason Statham movies, but it seems to me it's dudes between about 17 and 25 who are into those, not ones under 17.

Aside from the first sentence or two of my original post, the rest of it I wrote a ways back that I keep around for these sorts of occasions. Of course I'm not going to waste my time typing the same basic thing over and over.

MOVIEHOLE had this...
Church – The man that hires the ‘Expendables' to go after General Garza (who essentially runs his own island – described as a human rights graveyard). He’s an older bloke, and has a connection to the young man who Garza has apparently assassinated. This is personal, in other words. He wants Garza killed and his island burnt down. Five million dollars does the trick. (The rumour is, the role was written with Arnold Schwarzenegger in mind).

with guys like Stallone, statham, Jet Li, Dolph.....sly is going to have to find some relatively big-name "knowns" for this role....
also hes supposedly shooting big for the 2 Female roles...wonder whom they might be...

That's interesting A.B. I thought of Church as an elderly gentleman but I guess Schwarzenegger would work. But if that was the case it would be pretty much a cameo. I'd rather have him as the villain in part 2 or something.

I agree totally that it should be R for that reason. How old do you have to be in order to go with a parent to an R rated movie though?<br>
<br>
Over here the highest rating is 15, but you can't go in even if you're with a guardian unless you've had your 15th birthday already. which would mean all the Fathers with their 13 year old sons would half to download the thing.

Vern, is CHURCH the kind of character that could be set up to go on a mission in part 2 if the sequel happens? I would love it if Arnie just took his own team movie with THE A-TEAM! Any movement on that?

Good to see you are alive and well and I think if you read my comment you can see it is in no way trolling as it is neither derogatory nor inflammatory. Again it is cool to see you are still around and with a little name change able to post on the boards.
Also if you remember my Jurassic Park 4 story idea I'm not sure how much I posted but Ned was not alive on the island, at least not for more than a few minutes after his screen time. Still it is cool that your remember it that well. For a Doctor you may want to work on your bedside manner just a tad- you have some keen insights but sometimes you don't deliver them in the most loving way possible.

with the movie. It would imbalance it to a great degree. As for the "gay squad member", just go with Nick Chinlund, and don't think twice. He's got that potentially dubious "smarmy/macho" swagger that would fit the role like a glove. Plus he's a primo actor.<P>Seriously, guys... don't overthink this.

Arnie might not even be in this film but because there are real "rumors" out there, lets hope Arnie takes a role. It would just be as cool if Arnie played JOHN "HANNIBAL" SMITH in THE A-TEAM film. Vern, check this out...http://www.thearnoldfans.com/news/1390.htm

Before Quentin wrote something down and instead of being crap like this movie sounds like it will be, turned out to be one hell of a nod towards film history that'll make my head spin. Oh well, now we get the best of both worlds I guess. But I'm sad to hear that the gov of Cali won't make an appearance in this film. Or Bruce Willis. Life goes on...

Rob Liefeld's Supreme<p>
Crazy, violent, delusions of godhood, the anti-superman.<p>
Then like in the comics, reboot it in another movie and play Alan Moore's Supreme.<p>
Show the contrast and give Dolf some range to work in.

If there's a lot more Dolph (I hope he's NOT the character Vern thinks he is), but it sounds like a blast. So I'm there. I liked some of the Mercenaries in last years' Rambo and thought a couple of them stole the show from Stallone.